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Part 29
Sura 'Abasa 80:1-10
"He frowned and turned away,"
2. "Because there came
to him the blind man."
3. "And what would make you
know that he might (spiritually) purify himself,"
4 "Or become reminded so
that the reminder might profit him?"
5. "As to one who regards
himself self-sufficient,"
6. "To him do you address
yourself!"
7. "Though it is no blame on
you if he would not (spiritually) purify himself."
8. "But as to him who
comes to you striving hard,"
9. "And he fears (Allah in his heart),"
10. "Of him wast thou
unmindful."
The
Occasion of Revelation:
These
words show that Allah has blamed someone for an
action which gave superiority to a man or men of wealth rather than to a blind
man who was seeking the truth. But who was the admonished one? There are a
variety of ideas on this subject, but the most famous commentary among the
scholars is the following:.
Once
the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) was deeply engaged in trying to explain the Holy Qur'an
to some pagan Quraish leaders such as 'Atabat-ibn-i-Rabi 'ah, Abu-Jahl, 'Abbas-ibn-'Abdul-Mutallib
and some others. He was hopeful that it would attract them to Islam, and in so
doing, surely a lot of others would come to Islam, too. And therefore, put an
end to their sabotage. But, suddenly, he was interrupted by a blind man;
'Abdullah-ibn-Ummi-Maktum,
who was apparently poor, so that no one took notice of him. He wanted to learn
the Qur'an and asked the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to teach him. He repeated his
statement again and again, because he did not know exactly whom he was talking
to.
The
Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) naturally did not like the frequent interruptions and
this was seen on his face. "These Arab leaders", he said to himself "may think of Mohammad as a Prophet of
the poor and the blind." Then he turned away from 'Abdullah and
continued the work at preaching Allah's Message to them.
At
that moment he received the new verses stated above, which admonished the
Prophet (p.b.u.h.) for this action. Afterwards, he always held 'Abdullah in
high honor, and whenever he saw him he used to tell him "Hail to the one for
whom Allah admonished me." And, then, he questioned the
man: "Is there anything that I can do for you?" The blind man became a
true and sincere Muslim and as a direct appointment by the Prophet, himself,
become a governor of Medina on two occasions when the Prophet (p.b.u.h) went to
battle.
A
second opinion about this revelation is given for these verses, which is that a
man from the Umayyads was sitting with the Prophet Mohammad (p.b.u.h.) when
'Abdullah-ibn Ummi-Maktum arrived. When this man saw 'Abdullah, he
frowned and turned his back to him, as if he might become infected by him.
The
aforementioned verses were about the man sitting with the Prophet (p.b.u.h.)
and the admonishment was for him. It has been narrated that Imam Sadiq
(p.b.u.h.) agreed with this opinion when he was asked about this occasion of
revelation. The late Sayyed Murtaza, the great scholar of Islam, approved with
this occasion of revelation, as well.
There
is nothing, of course, in the verse, itself, to show clearly that the one who
is addressed is Mohammad ( p.b.u.h.). The only sign may be found in verses 8 to
10 where they say: "But as to him who comes to you striving hard," "And he
fears (Allah in his heart)." "Of him
wast thou unmindful."
This
is the matter that can be true about the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) more than anyone
else. But, according to what 'Sayyed Murtaza' has said, there are some signs in
the verses showing that 'the one' is not the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Some of
them are as follows:
'To
be frowning' was
not one of the Prophet's character traits, especially for the Prophet of Islam.
He spoke gently and with a kind face even to his own enemies and was even more
kind to the truth-seeking believers.
Moreover,
paying attention to the wealthy people and neglecting, the poor is not
agreeable, at all, with what is said about him in Sura
Qalam, No. 68,
verse 4 which says: "And thou (standst) on an exalted standard of
character", (with the particular note that Sura
Qalam had been
revealed before the revelation of Sura Abasa).
But,
supposing the first occasion of revelation is true, this act is not more than 'leaving
to the better' / tark-i-'ula / and there is nothing in it that
contrasts with the state of sinlessness.
Since,
first, the purpose of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) was definitely to absorb the
Quraish leaders in order to spread Islam and to stop their sabotage.
Secondly,
it does not matter so much to frown at a blind man because he cannot see.
Moreover, 'Abdullah-ibn-Ummi-Maktum did not keep the rules of
etiquette, since, he should not have interrupted the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) when he
was busy talking to the people who were gathered there.
On
the one hand, since Allah's emphasis is on love and
affection for the poor and the afflicted, among the believers, it does not
approve of the little amount of heedlessness from His prophet to that believing
servant, so He admonishes him.
On
the other hand, if we consider the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) as a true, great prophet,
from these verses we see that they are almost a miracle, because the great
leader of Islam mentions such important responsibilities in the heavenly Holy
Book, about himself, that he finds the slightest 'leaving to the better' an
option: i.e. the little amount heedlessness to a blind truth-seeking
believer, which Allah admonish him for. This is
an evidence for the fact that this Book is from Allah and he is a true prophet, because if the Book were
not from Allah, surely it would not have
such content.
A
more astonishing matter is that according to the above mentioned narration,
whenever the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) saw 'Abdullah-ibn-Ummi-Maktum,
he remembered the occasion a honored him very much.
The
other aspect, which the verses contain, is that of the Islamic culture in
relation to the behavior shown to the oppressed and to the arrogant: as to how
it considers the blind, poor believer in comparison to those rich, powerful
pagan Arab leaders. This clearly shows that Islam is a support for the
oppressed and is against the arrogant.
In
conclusion, we repeat that though the first thought about the occasion of this
revelation is well-known among the commentators, it should be confessed
that there is nothing vivid, in the verse, to prove the idea that the Prophet
(p.b.u.h.) is the clear target of the admonition.
Commentary:
Harsh
Admonition for Heedlessness Shown to a Truth-seeking Blind Man.
Keeping
in mind what was said about the first idea regarding the occasion of revelation
of the verses, we will now discuss the given commentary.
"He
Frowned and turned away .
"Because
there came to him the blind man".
"And what would make you
know that he might (spiritually) purify
himself".
"Or become
reminded so that the reminder might profit him? "
The
reminder can be, at least, an advice to him. If it does not affect him to be
really virtuous, it may make him aware and this awareness would change him a
little.
"As to one who
regards himself as self-sufficient"
"To him do you
address yourself!"
And
'you' insist on guiding him, but he is entangled with pride due to his wealth
and selfishness. It is the pride from which rebellion and disobedience
originate, as Sura Alaq, No. 96, verses 6-7
say: "Nay, most surely man does transgress (all bounds)," "For he
thinks himself self-sufficient".
"Though it is no blame on
you if he would not (spiritually) purify
himself"
.
It
is for 'you' only to deliver His message; they may take its advice or merely
become annoyed. Therefore, you should not neglect the truth-seeking blind
man or annoy him for the sake of the rich leaders, although you mean to guide
them.
"But as to him who
comes to you striving hard,"
"And he fears (Allah in his heart)"
The
very motive, fear of Allah, has forced him to come to
you in order to hear some truth and, thereafter, employ them in order to purify
himself and grow in understanding.
"Of
him wast thou unmindful."
Indeed,
the term /anta/ 'you, thee' is used to say that a person, such as the Prophet,
should not divert himself, even for a moment, from such a truth-seeking
man and should not pay attention to others although he definitely wanted to
guide them, because the priority is given to that of the pure-hearted
oppressed.
In
any case, this reproachful speech, whether to the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) or to
anyone else, clearly states the fact that Islam and the Qur'an give a special
high regard to the servants of Allah, particularly to those of
the oppressed.
Also,
Islam takes a severe position against those who are intoxicated and become
proud from the abundance of Allah's blessings, so much so that Allah is not content if the least
annoyance is caused to the truth-seeking oppressed, because of giving
attention to the affluent.
The
reason is clear: such a message works first amongst the simple and lowly, the
poor and despised folk, and the mighty ones, of the earth only come around when
the masses stream in like an irresistible force. The oppressed always support
Islam, sincerely, helping the great leaders of the religion in their affairs,
and are the candidates of the battle fields "or martyrdom. As Imam Ali (p.b.u.h.)
said in his famous order to Malik-i-Ashtar: "... While the
common men, the poor and apparently the less important section of your subjects
are the Islam; of Islam; they are the real assemblage of Muslims and the power
and defensive force against the enemies of Islam. Keep an open mind for them,
be more friendly with them and secure their confidence and sympathy."
